"Given that Indian roads witness over 5 lakh accidents each year resulting in about 1.47 lakh fatalities, the Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill is an important step towards strengthening the legal framework for improving road safety in India," IRF Chairman K K Kapila said in a statement.

In order to exhibit the model stretches of national highways as per norms, NHAI plans to develop 57 stretches of NH (1,735 kms) across the length and breadth of the country near each state capital, the NHAI official said. These model stretches will serve as a platform to instruct the highway engineers.